Clothing with clear pocket for holding portable electronic devices

ABSTRACT

A clothing item for retaining, displaying, and allowing operation of a portable electronic device. The clothing item includes an article of clothing, such as a shirt, formed of a material. A generally rectangular clear plastic front is permanently affixed along two sides edges and a bottom edge to the material of the article of clothing by permanent means, such as by stitch lines, to form a pocket, the clear plastic front having a front facing surface and a rear facing surface, wherein at least one of the rear facing surface of the clear plastic front and the material of the shirt in the vicinity of the pocket have an anti-slip surface texture or property. Indicia, such as images and/or text are preferably located on the article of clothing in the vicinity of the pocket, which indicia is at least partially viewable through the clear plastic front.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/380,086, filed Sep. 3, 2010, the content of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to clothing items, and more particularly a shirtor other piece of clothing that has a clear pocket sized to fit aportable electronic device with audio and/or video playback features,such as a device with a touch screen, control panel, and/or controlbuttons, which allows the touch screen, control panel, and/or controlbuttons to be accessed and activated while the device is in the pocket,and which further allows the device, and any image on the device, to beseen while retained in the pocket.

The use of portable audio and/or video players, such as the popular lineof Apple® brand of iPod®, iPod Touch®, and even iPad® devices, etc., andlike compressed file (e.g., MP3 (audio) and MP4 (video), etc.) players,and cellular phones, e.g., iPhone® with touch screens and audio andvideo playback and live playback and streaming features have growndramatically in recent years. There are currently numerous holders forthese device. Some of these holders include a strap which is wrappedaround a user's arm for holding these electronic devices. Other holdershave clips or straps for holding the device to belt, etc. Some userssimply place the device in a pocket of their clothing, and if they wishto access the device, e.g., to control the device or show the device toothers, they must first remove the device from his/her pocket. Otherusers will simply opt to hold the device in their hands so that they canreadily access the device's controls and show the device (e.g., to sharephotos or a video) to others. This is inconvenient since the hands areoccupied, and device can be dropped or lost.

There accordingly remains a need for a holder that allows a portableelectronic device to be readily accessed and also seen by third parties.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a shirt or other clothing item to be worn that has aclear pocket sized to fit a portable electronic device with audio and/orvideo playback features, such as a device with a touch screen, controlpanel, and/or control buttons, which allows the touch screen, controlpanel, and/or control buttons to be accessed and activated while thedevice is in the pocket, and which further allows the device, and anyimage on the device, to be seen while retained in the pocket.

The clear pocket comprises a section of clear plastic material that isattached to the shirt or other clothing item to be worn with stitchingor is otherwise permanently attached, e.g., with adhesive, sonicwelding, rivets, etc. The clear pocket may be completely open at itstop, or can include a snap or other closure to prevent the portableelectronic device from inadvertently falling out of the clear pocket

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first exemplary embodiment of a detail of ashirt with a clear pocket of the invention for holding a portableelectronic device.

FIG. 2 is a photograph of a exemplary embodiment of a detail of a shirtwith a clear pocket of the invention for holding a portable electronicdevices.

FIG. 3 is a detail showing a snap for retaining an open top of thepocket closed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning first to FIG. 1, there is shown a first exemplary embodiment ofa clothing item 10 of the invention. In FIG. 1, it is in the form of anarticle of clothing, such as a shirt 12 with a clear pocket front 14 forholding a portable electronic device 20. The clear pocket front 14 ispreferably formed of a clear or at least partially transparent plasticmaterial that is safe in a clothes washer and dryer and will not harden,curl, yellow, discolor, or rip. The clear pocket front will preferablybe generally rectangular in shape to accommodate the portable electronicdevice 20, but could have other shapes. Pocket materials such as heatresistant vinyl will function well. The clear pocket front 14 will allowa screen and touchpad of the portable electronic device to be seen andoperated, and will allow the electronic device, as well as any imageappearing thereon, e.g., photographs, videos, etc., to be seen throughthe clear pocket front 14. The clear pocket front 14 is attached to thearticle of clothing 12 by stitch lines at two sides 16 a and 16 b and abottom edge 16 c attaching the pocket front 14 to the front of thearticle of clothing 12. Alternately, other attachments means can be usedto affixed the clear pocket front 14 to the front of the shirt, such asadhesive, sonic welding, rivets, and the like. The material of thearticle of clothing 12 behind the clear pocket front 14 in combinationwith the clear pocket front 14 form an open pocket 24 for holding theportable electronic device 20. The clear pocket front 14 is open at atop edge 18 to allow the electronic device 20 to be deposited in thepocket 24. In order to help prevent the electronic device 20 frominadvertently falling out of the pocket 24, e.g., when a wears bendsover, the material of the clear pocket front 14 preferably has ananti-slip surface texture or property, at least on its inside surface.In addition to or alternatively, the front of the shirt that is behindthe clear pocket face 14 can also have an anti-slip surface texture orproperty. Also, the clear pocket 14 may preferably be sized to snugglyreceive the electronic device to further prevent the electronic devicefrom fall out of the pocket 24. The cables of earphones 26 exit the openpocket 24. If desired, a detachable attachment 50, such as snaps, clips,zippers, hook and loop materials, etc., (a snap 50 being shown in thedetail of FIG. 3) may optionally be placed near the open top edge 18 ofthe pocket 24 to further help prevent the electronic device 20 frominadvertently falling out. As shown, the clothing item 10 preferably hasindicia (words and/or images), and in FIG. 1, an image of a fire alarmbox 22A with the words “BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY appearing thereon,with the image of the alarm box 22A extending outside of the region ofthe pocket 24 and with the words “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY” appearing asindicia 22B located on the front of the shirt behind the clear pocket14, which indicia 22B can be seen through and in the vicinity of theclear pocket front 14. The indicia 22A and 22B can comprise printing onthe surface of the article of clothing 12, decals, embroidery, separateitems attached thereto, and the like. Thus, whether or not a user has anelectronic device 20 in the pocket 24, the indicia 22B and/or theportable electronic device 20 can be seen through the clear pocket front14. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the pocket 24 is shown located inapproximately a mid-line of the front of the article of clothing (ashirt) 12 just below the shirt's collar 28, but the pocket 24 can belocated at any location on the article of clothing 12, althoughpreferably on a front of the article of clothing 12. It is also possiblefor the pocket 14 to be placed on a sleeve of the shirt 12 if desired.

Turning next to FIG. 2, there is shown a second exemplary embodiment ofa clothing item 100 of the invention, being in the form of a shirt 12with a clear pocket front 14 for holding a portable electronic device20. The clothing item 100 is similar to the clothing item of FIG. 1, andthe same reference numerals are used as in FIG. 1 where applicable. Theclear pocket front 14 is preferably formed of a clear or at leastpartially transparent plastic material that is safe in a clothes washerand dryer and will not harden, curl, yellow, discolor, or rip. The clearpocket front will preferably be generally rectangular in shape toaccommodate the portable electronic device 20, but could have othershapes. Pocket materials such as heat resistant vinyl will functionwell. The clear pocket front 14 will allow a touchpad and/or screenand/or controls of the electronic device 20 to be seen and operated, andwill allow the image of the electronic device, as well as any imageappearing thereon, e.g., photographs, videos, etc., to be seen throughthe clear pocket front 14. The clear pocket front 14 may be attached tothe shirt 12 by stitch lines at two sides 16 a and 16 b and a bottomedge 16 c attaching the pocket front 14 to the front of the shirt 12.Alternately, other attachments means can be used to affixed the clearpocket front 14 to the front of the shirt, such as adhesive, sonicwelding, rivets, and the like. The pocket front 14 is not stitched at atop edge 18 to allow the electronic device 20 to be deposited in thepocket 24 formed by the pocket front 14 and the material of the shirt 12behind the pocket front 14. In order to help prevent the electronicdevice 20 from inadvertently falling out of the pocket 14, e.g., when awears leans over, the material of the pocket front 14 preferably has ananti-slip surface texture or property, at least on its inside surfacethereof. In addition to or alternatively, the front of the shirt that isbehind the clear pocket face 14 can also have an anti-slip surfacetexture or property. Also, the pocket 24 may preferably be sized tosnuggly receive the electronic device to further prevent the electronicdevice from fall out of the pocket 24. If desired, snaps, clips,zippers, hook and loop materials, etc., (not shown) can be placed at theopen top edge 18 of the pocket 24 to further help prevent the electronicdevice 20 from inadvertently falling out. As shown, in this embodiment,the clothing item 100 preferably has indicia (words and images, in thiscase, an image of headphones 30 that will straddle an image of anelectronic device 32, with the image of the electronic device 32 beingbehind the clear pocket front 14 and the image of the headphones 30partially extends outside of the area of the pocket 24. The indiciabehind the pocket front 14 can be seen through the clear pocket front14. The indicia 30 and 32 can comprise printing on the surface of theshirt 12, decals, embroidery, separate items attached thereto, and thelike. As shown in FIG. 2, the image of an electronic device 32 willclearly visible through the clear pocket 14, giving the impression thatan actual electronic device is being carried in the pocket 24 andheadphones 30 are supported on the front of the shirt. However, when auser inserts an actual electronic device into the pocket 24 of theclothing item 100, the user can share any actual images being displayedon the electronic device 20 with other while the electronic device issecurely held in the pocket 24.

Turning to FIG. 3, there is shown a detail view of an optionalattachment for holding the open top 18 of the pocket 24 closed. Here, asnap 50 with one component fixed to the clear plastic front and another(not shown) affixed to the article of clothing 12. When the snap 50 isclosed, the portable electronic will be prevented from falling out ofthe pocket 24.

With either exemplary embodiments of clothing items 10 or 100, ifdesired, the clear pocket front 14 can have printing thereon, whichprinting can be part of the design or indicia in areas behind orsurrounding the pocket front 14, or can be independent indicia formed inthe area around the pocket 24. Such printing on the pocket front 14 willpreferably not cover much of the surface area of the pocket front 14,and if it does, be preferably be transparent or translucent so that aview of the electronic device in the pocket 24 is will not besubstantially impeded. Also, while the article of clothing is shown asbeing a T-shirt 12, the invention will work with any kind of article ofclothing, including a shirt, such as long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts,button up shirts, or other articles of clothing, including dresses,coats, jackets, jumpsuits, and other clothing items as may be desired.

Having thus described the exemplary embodiments of the clothing items ofthe present invention, it should be understood by those skilled in theart that the above disclosures are exemplary only and that various otheralternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within thescope of the present invention. The presently disclosed embodiment is tobe considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Thescope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims ratherthan the foregoing description, and all changes which come within themeaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intendedto be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clothing item for retaining, displaying, andallowing operation of a portable electronic device, comprising: anarticle of clothing formed of a material; a clear plastic front which ispermanently affixed along two sides edges and a bottom edge to thematerial of the clothing item to form a pocket; and indicia located onthe clothing item in the vicinity of the pocket, which indicia is atleast partially viewable through the clear plastic front.
 2. Theclothing item of claim 1, further comprising a closure at a top of thepocket, which closure is operable to open and close an open top of thepocket.
 3. The clothing item of claim 1, wherein the clear plastic frontis permanently affixed to the material of the article of clothing bystitch lines.
 4. The clothing item of claim 1, wherein the clear plasticfront has a front facing surface and a rear facing surface, and at leastone of the rear facing surface of the clear plastic front and thematerial of the article of clothing in the vicinity of the pocket havean anti-slip surface texture or property.
 5. The clothing item of claim1, wherein the indicia comprises at least one of images and text.
 6. Theclothing item of claim 1, wherein the clear plastic front is generallyrectangular and when affixed to the material of the clothing articleforms the pocket which is sized to snugly receive a portable electronicdevice.
 7. The clothing item of claim 1, wherein the article of clothingcomprises a shirt.
 8. A clothing item for retaining, displaying, andallowing operation of a portable electronic device, comprising: anarticle of clothing formed of a material; a generally rectangular clearplastic front which is permanently affixed along two sides edges and abottom edge to the material of the article of clothing by stitch linesto form a pocket, the clear plastic front having a front facing surfaceand a rear facing surface, wherein at least one of the rear facingsurface of the clear plastic front and the material of the article ofclothing in the vicinity of the pocket have an anti-slip surface textureor property; and indicia comprising at least one of images and textlocated on the article of clothing in the vicinity of the pocket, whichindicia is at least partially viewable through the clear plastic front.9. The clothing item of claim 8, further comprising a closure at a topof the pocket, which closure is operable to open and close an open topof the pocket.
 10. The clothing item of claim 8, wherein the pocket issized to snugly receive a portable electronic device.
 11. The clothingitem of claim 8, wherein the article of clothing comprises a shirt.